The "no added sugar" label trick every parent should know about

The trick "No added sugar" on a baby food label is technically true — but the total sugar can still be alarmingly high. Here's how.

Three ways brands sneak in sweetness

1. Fruit juice concentrate Legally not an "added sugar". Functionally, pure fructose. Brands replace refined sugar with apple, grape or pear concentrate and the label stays clean. You often see this in "toddler cereals".

2. Sweet fruit purée as base A pouch that's 70% banana + apple can hit 14g sugar without a single "added" gram. That's roughly 3 teaspoons. WHO recommends under 25g/day of free sugars for adults — a toddler should have far less.

3. "Natural flavourings" A catch-all term that can include sweeteners derived from fruit. Transparent brands list exactly what they use; less transparent ones hide behind the term.

What actually matters

Free sugars = added sugars + sugars in fruit juice + sugars in purées (when separated from the whole fruit).

The WHO recommends: - <5% of daily calories from free sugars for adults - Under 2 years: zero added or free sugars ideally - 2+ years: keep it minimal

Translated: a 12-month-old having more than a few grams of free sugar per day is worth a second look.

The label trick to spot Compare "Sugars" (total) to "of which added" on the nutrition panel. If total is 14g and added is 0g, the sweetness is coming from concentrates or purées. That's not always bad — a whole banana is fine — but a processed pouch that tastes like a milkshake is different.

How EggYolk handles this We look at total sugars, not just "added". For under-2s, we flag anything over 8g/100g. For 2–3 year olds, over 10g/100g. You'll see the breakdown on every scan: natural vs added vs from concentrate.

Sources: WHO free sugars guideline, NHS infant feeding advice. Not medical advice.